


Merry Christmas, Darling

by transjohnnygill



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Christmas Fluff, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-24
Updated: 2016-12-24
Packaged: 2018-09-11 18:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9001255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transjohnnygill/pseuds/transjohnnygill
Summary: Merry Christmas, DarlingWe're apart, that's trueBut every day's a holidayWhen I'm near to you





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [snowdrops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/snowdrops/gifts).



> Merry Christmas to my mermaid sister! <3

Christmas was a big deal for the Order; the full-time residents of the Order went all out in the weeks leading up to the 25th, decorating Headquarters from top to bottom until every surface was glittering with ornaments, lights, and tinsel. They always saved the Christmas tree for last though, not even bothering to put it up until the day before—they had learned the hard way in years past that between Komui’s and the Science Division’s unfortunate knack for chaos and destruction, it was best to save the tree for last lest it become an unintentional target for robots and experiments gone awry.

And so on the evening of the 24th, Lavi found himself balancing precariously on the extended handle of his hammer, decorating the upper portions of the 30-foot tall Christmas tree that dominated the foyer. A few of the Finders and other support staff were busying themselves with decorating the bottom branches of the tree and other last-minute touches around the Order, but the majority of them were frantically attempting to keep Komui and the scientists occupied and far, _far_ away from any area that was still undergoing decorating, for fear of their “help.”

As it was, Lavi was surprised that they had approached him for help, having figured that his past pranks and disruptive tendencies would disqualify him from being allowed to help. But as Toma had explained it, Komui had gone and hidden all of the ladders that the Order had in an attempt to force them to let him help, to which they had apparently responded by shoving him into his office with a strand of lights and some tinsel and told him he could decorate in there, which had brought them to Lavi’s door asking for help.

Lavi was actually relieved that they had given him something else to occupy himself with; Panda had caught him moping over the fact that Lena and the others were still out on missions and had set him to work in front of a huge pile of books, leaving him to it with a stern, disapproving frown and a mumbled “ _idiot_.” It had taken all of ten minutes for his mind to wander back to her, running through a thousand different scenarios of how they could’ve spent Christmas together, his hands absentmindedly playing with a sprig of mistletoe that he had snagged from one of the doorways before shoving it back in his pocket.

The Finders kept a close eye on him as he hung more tinsel along the upper branches of the tree, ready to pounce at the first sign of tomfoolery; Lavi responded in kind by sprinkling the shimmering strands over their heads whenever they were within range—only he and Toma laughed. It didn’t take long for the people on the ground to run out of space to decorate, Toma shooing them off to other areas with the promise of babysitting the Exorcist on his own, only to leave Lavi with a wink and a thumbs up after the others had left, his sign of confidence in the redhead.

Lavi worked more efficiently with the others gone, the scent of fresh pine his only distraction, reminiscent of Lena from her morning runs through the forest surrounding the Order whenever she was actually home to enjoy those small luxuries of normalcy. By the time he finished, he had only dropped two of the delicate glass ornaments—casualties from having tried to carry too many things up with him. He admired his work from the ground, going back to add more tinsel and garlands to spots that looked barer than others, but still couldn’t shake the feeling that something was missing.

Pursing his lips, he rummaged through the boxes of decorations, looking back and forth from the tree with intense concentration—it had been years since the last time he had actually celebrated Christmas; Bookman didn’t bother with holidays, so unless their records led them somewhere that observed those kind of traditions, they never celebrated any of them.

Lavi ran a hand through his hair, pulling his bandana down around his neck as he thought back to his last Christmas—he had been ten and an early snowstorm had brought them to the shelter of a convent where the Mother Superior had roped him into decorating their tree with her. He wracked his brain trying to think of what all had been on the tree, making a mental checklist as he went back and forth between the boxes, the tree, and his memories. They had lights and ornaments and tinsel; they even had strands of popcorn and cranberry garlands and candy canes and gingerbread men, compliments of Jeryy, strewn throughout the tree. The Finders had even dressed the tree with a bright red skirt around the base.

Finally, his eyes settled on the very top of the tree, remembering how Mother Superior had scooped him up in her arms, much to his dismay and Bookman’s amusement, saying that she needed his help with the most important task of all, handing him a golden star tree topper.

_“The star of Bethlehem led the wise men to Jesus,”_ she had told him as he scowled at her skeptically, _“so perhaps if you wish upon this star while you put it atop the tree it will lead you to what you wish for.”_

She had squeezed him in a brief hug before lifting him higher to place the star; at the time, Lavi’s bitter disdain for humanity had him labeling her as another prime example of the stupidity that he had to deal with, his only wish at the time being that she’d put him down and leave him alone. But now as he dug through the dozens of boxes scattered through the room, he felt none of that contempt, only determination for finding the tree topper.

It was, of course, at the very bottom of the last box he had to check, a sparkling silver with intricate swirls carved all over it that would be lost at the height of the tree. He stared at the star as he stood, twirling his hammer deftly with his other hand as he went back to the tree, a strange melancholia settling over him as he made his Innocence extend, balancing upon it carefully as he rose. He secured it on the topmost point of the tree, lingering to admire his work, the star catching the lights of the tree in the otherwise dim room. It was beautiful, and yet his chest still ached.

Staring at the star again, Lavi sighed, resting his cheek against the handle of his hammer as he pouted. “I wish Lenalady was here…she’d love this.” He murmured to himself, his hand reaching out to brush the branches as he lowered himself back down to the ground.

He plopped down cross-legged at the base of the tree, feeling like a kid who had just found out that Santa was just a myth as he debated risking asking Komui for a status update on Lena’s mission, her older brother likely to either burst into tears or go into suspicious “ _defend Lenalee’s honor_ ” mode and attempt to tranquilize him with truth serum or some other equally-terrible display of over-protectiveness that he was prone to do whenever a man brought up her name.

With a groan he flopped onto his back, cushioning his head with his arms as he relaxed into the silence of the room. Ignoring the religious importance of the holiday, Lavi did find himself enjoying the sense of unity and warmth that the holiday offered, and the tree _was_ a beautiful touch to the normally empty foyer.

At some point he must have fallen asleep at the base of the tree, because the next thing he knew, Lavi was gently roused from his sleep by the soft touches of a hand stroking his hair and cheek, a beautifully familiar voice whispering his name as he stirred. His face scrunched up as he tried to blink the sleep from his eye, momentarily forgetting to breathe when Lenalee finally came into focus, a large, sleepy smile spreading across his face.

“Well good morning there, sleepyhead.” She laughed lightly, which turned into a surprised shriek when Lavi abruptly sat up, pulling her into his lap from where she sat beside him and enveloped her in his arms, burying his face in the crook of her neck, peppering it with kisses before pulling back to look at her. She was _there_ , she was _home_ , her eyes catching the lights on the tree as she sat there with him, her smiling presence the only gift he could have ever asked for on Christmas.

Lena opened her mouth to tease her redhead when his face suddenly froze, his hands searching through his jacket pockets for something, one hand pulling out a small box. She shot him a look of exaggerated fake suspicion as he handed her the box.

“Merry Christmas, Lenalady~” She unwrapped it slowly, a surprised _oh_ escaping her as she opened it, finding a simple charm bracelet inside adorned with two charms—a butterfly and a rabbit.

Lena blinked the moisture out of her eyes, wrapping her arms around Lavi’s neck once the bracelet was secured around her wrist. “Thank you, Lavi, it’s beautiful.”

He hugged her back tightly, kissing her temple. And then he shifted, giving her a goofy grin, his other hand producing the sprig of mistletoe, dangling it over his own head.

“Merry Christmas, Lavi?” He asked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

She shoved his chest lightly with a laugh, giving the mistletoe a contemplative glance before reaching up and snatching it before he could react. Lena smiled at him slyly, tapping his nose with the plant playfully when he pouted at her. Then she tossed the plant aside, her hands framing his face as she brought him forward to meet her for a kiss, the both of them savoring the moment of togetherness. Lena pulled back first, her hands falling to caress his shoulders as she rested her forehead against his.

“Merry Christmas, Lavi.”


End file.
